Split mold for metal pig casting machines



S ep 1 1 s. KATZMAN 2,952,054

SPLIT MOLD FOR METAL PIG CASTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 1, 1958 INVENTOR. SEYMOUR KATZMAN AWOPNEY United States Patent @fihce Patented Sept. 13, 1960 i'SPL-IT MOLD-.EQRMET-ALP A T G MA HINES jSeymour'Katzman, 97 25 64th Ave, Rego Park, NY. .Eiled-Dec. 1, 19 58, Ser. No. 777,509

- C im (CL -16 This invention relates to pig castingmachines and parjic ularly.to a novelsplit mold assembly foruse in a metal pig casting machine.

' P ig casting machines are used to make metal ingots from molteniron or.other metal. Conventionally, a pig ,casting, machine consists of a series of molds incorporated ;into aconveyor device. :The molten, iron is poured into r nol,ds one at a time atone end ofthe conveyor. Bythe lime the filled mold reaches the other end of the conpigwill not stick inthe' mold.

A further object is to provide ,a mold assembly for-a ,pig casting machine which is self-sustaining and does not ,require the usual. conveyor chains or beltsheretofore required.

' A still further object is to provide a split mold assemblysoconstructed and arranged that the molds separate ,on being rotated around a rotatable sprocket support causing the pigs contained in the-molds to fall from the .molds.

Another object is to provide a split-mold assembly which .docs not-require pretreatment with an anti-sticking com- ;pound to effect release of a pig therefrom.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will'be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the .variousnovel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is an elevational view of'a pig casting machine .embodyingthe invention, the drive-being omitted.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, on an enlarged scale, ;.shoWiI;g th d i e diag ammat c lly, -.part being broken .a y-

Fig.3 is a side elevational view of part of the machine shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view through the longi tudinal center of a portion of the mold assembly shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 55 of Fig. 1, parts being omitted.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the molds.

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of a sprocket wheel employed in the machine.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a metal pig casting -machine including -an ar ticulated endless mold structure or assembly 10 supported andstretched-around a pair of head sprocket wheels 12 and .a pair of end sprocket wheels 14. The mold structure 10 comprises aseries -of juxtaposed molds -1 6;hinged to each otherby hinge constructions 18.

The molds 16 each comprises an elongated body:2 0 rectangular in plan and of-substantially inverted V-shape in cross section, with --flat plates 22 extending across the ends of the body, the plates being-formed with stepped portions24 and 26 at their tops and with straight flat bottoms 28 and straight flat end edges 29. The body is divided into side. portions or sections 30 and 32 which are smooth-walled and curved slightlydownwardlyand outwardly as viewed in Fig. 4, the outer free elongated, end edges having flat faces '33 and being enlarged and rounded on the inner surface thereof as indicated at 34. The apex or top 36 of the body is flat. The inner surface of each end plate 22 tapers downwardly and inwardly as indi at d .31 in i A. bearing sleeve 40 is form ed on each corner of each m l bn y 2 lon deth e a d d spos en t wise thereof. A similar bearingsleeve42 is forinedon .eachcorner of the other sideof the body, parallel to the sleeve 40 but spaced inwardly of .the end plates 22a distance equal to the length gfthe sleeve. 40 so that the sle v 0.0 on sid ofis re v to the l ev -.4

on the other side. .The bearing sleeveis disposed outwardly of;the,plan e,of the moldbody when the mold bodies .are in-assembled condition. The side portions30and2 of the mold body constitute moldsfor two .separate ad jacent pigs of. metal.

,Ihesproeket .wheels 12- an l4 each consists. ofadiscshaped body .44 with an axial 'openir g 46. Ihe outer J periphery -of.t.he.body .44. is formed .with relatively deep semicircular grooves .48 thereacross-forming a :pain-of teeth 50 with a shallowsemicircular groove 52 thercbetween, the;teet h having fiat tops .andsquaredofi. corners. Ashaft 5,4,connects thefrontpair of sprocket wheels 12 .in spaced-relation and a similar shaft-56 connects the rear pair .of wheels .14. ,T he .wheels are spaced -a distance -.s l eeve-bearings 42 of the next adjacent mold'body and thehinge construction 18 between adjacent mold -bodies is constituted by a pin-58 extending loosely-through,the aligned sleeve bearings. The ends of the-pin arejournalled in shallow grooves:SZbetween-thesetS ofteeth 50 onop- I posed sprocket wheels.

The mold structure ;.10 is driven around the sprocket wheels ;12 and 14--by rneans of a, motor 60,:the driveshaft :62 of which is connected through speed reduction gearing 64 to an extension 66 of the shaft 54 of the head orfront sprocket wheels 12.

in use, the machine is supported with its front .shaft 54 journalled on a standard 68 andraised at an :inclinationto the horizontal so that themolds .16 are inclined .upwardly. in the: plane of travel,- from wheels .14 to wheels 12, the plane of travel being substantially tangential to -the wheels. It is desirable to raise the rear end of themachine so that sufiicient clearance is afforded to permit the pigs to drop into a conveyance such as a railroad car. The mold assembly, however, could be disposed perfectly level if desired. When the mold bodies are thus assembled, the adjacent molds will be at the same elevation and the end plates 22 will be rectangular in shape. As shown in Fig. l, the mold bodies on the upper level of the mold structure or assembly are normally subjected to downward forces due to the weight thereof. This will tend to force the end edges 29 of the mold bodies closer to each other and will ensure a positive seal to the cavity I elongated inverted V-shaped body having opposed curved in which the molten metal is to be poured. The mold bodies along the lower level will tend to sag and hang, providing a little slack to permit the mold bodies to open partially. However, the upper level mold bodies and the hinged connections therebetween constitute a rigid beam spanning the space between the sprocket wheels 12 and 14, whereby the mold bodies may be driven around the wheels by the motor 60. If the space between the wheels 12 and 14 is made very large, the weight of the molds suspended between the wheels may be such that some intermediate support may be desirable. This support may be provided in the form of idler sprocket wheels (not shown) disposed at intermediate points between the end sprocket wheels.

When in use, a pot or runner 72 of molten metal is I disposed over the mold assembly of the machine near one end thereof as shown in Fig. 1, for filling the molds in succession with molten metal. The runner is preferably provided with a closure member 74 operated by a lever 76. The molten metal, such as iron, is discharged from 1. A mold for a pig casting machine comprising an side body portions connected along one long edge of the body, said curved body portions each curving downwardly and outwardly of the center of the body, fiat end plates Spanning both body portions,'the long free edges of said the runner as indicated by dotted lines 78 to fill the molds in turn, while the mold bodies 20 constituting the mold assembly move steadily upward in the plane of travel. The mold bodies are driven by the motor 60 through the driven shaft 66 to shaft 54 of sprocket wheels 12 to mold bodies 20 to sprocket wheels 14. The molds will each i be filled to a level such as indicated by dot-dash lines at L in Fig. 4. The molten metal will quickly cool off by air during its travel, the curved convexed undersides of the molds facilitating conduction of heat away from the molten metal. By the time each filled mold reaches the sprocket wheels 14 it will have cooled and solidified into a pig of metal. The solid pig will have a flat top and a generally rounded bottom with a longitudinal recess therein formed by the enlargement 34 along the top of the edge face 33 of the mold. The pigs will normally lie loosely on the molds and as the molds bearing the pigs continue their travel around the sprocket wheels 14, the molds will be forced apart angularly as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, and the pigs will drop out of the mold as indicated at 80 of their own weight, the enlargement'34 and the tapered inner walls of the end plates 22 facilitating such ejection.

The material to be used for the molds will, of course,

' depend upon the metal to be cast therein. If the pigs are to be formed of iron, the molds may be formed of steel. Other metal to be cast may employ molds made of bronze, refractory ceramic materials, etc.

The endless assembly of the molds makes it unnecessary to provide a conveyor belt or chain support for the molds either when full or empty so that an economy in manufacture is realized over pig casting machines requiring such auxiliary supporting structure.

The molds are so constructed that they can be cast by known molding methods in economical fashion.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Pat- 1 ent is:

body portions having fiat faces, said body portions being enlarged and rounded on the inner surfaces thereof, adjacent the edges thereof, said body portions and end plates constituting two halves of two separate adjacent mold cavities, said curved body portions having convex undersides providing heat radiating surfaces for the mold, bearing sleeves on the corners of the body along one side thereof and bearing sleeves on the corners of the body along the opposite side thereof, the latter bearing sleeves offset inwardly from the first-named sleeves, the mating of adjacent elongated bodies providing a pig mold with a thickened center portion.

2. A pig casting machine comprising spaced pairs of spaced sprocket wheels, a shaft between each pair of wheels, an endless assembly of elongated molds encircling said wheels, said molds each including an elongated inverted V-shaped body having opposed curved side body portions connected along one long side edge of the body, said curved body portions each curving downwardly and outwardly of the center of the body, flat end plates spanning both body portions, the long free side edges of said body portions having flat faces, said body portions being enlarged and rounded on the inner surfaces thereof, adjacent the edges thereof, said body portions and end plates constituting two halves of two separate adjacent mold cavities, the adjacent end edge faces of said molds abutting each other, hinge means joining adjacent molds and motor means connected to the shaft of one pair of sprocket wheels for rotating said endless assembly of molds, the weight of said molds between said pairs of wheels forcing said end edge faces together to provide complete seals thereat to retain molten metal in the mold cavities, the mating of adjacent elongated bodies providing a pig mold with a thickened center portion.

3. A mold for a pigcasting machine comprising an elongated inverted V-shaped body having opposed curved side body portions connected along one long edge of the body, said curved body portions curving downwardly and outwardly of the center of the body, the long free edges of said body portion having flat faces, said body portions being enlarged and rounded on the inner surface, adjacent the edges thereof, in a manner such that upon rotation of one mold body with respect to the adjacent mold body, the enlargement will exert a force on the pig casting causing its rejection from the mold, the mating of adjacent elongated bodies providing a pig mold with a thickened center portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

